Agreeably to previous arrangement, I had my horse brought to the market-place. Mr. Hurtim, who was a man of business, and took a pride in seeing his horses dash off from the starting post, was himself in attendance. He was there too, it may be remarked, to meet any objection that might arise from appearances on the part of the horse, and from timidity on the part of the jockey. The animal came to the post like a bear to the stake-one of the apprentices pulling him along, and the master touching-not his buttocks, for they had disappeared-but his bones, with the palm of his hand. Bit and stirrup were both rendered venerable by the rust of years;-the nature of the leather having died a natural death, the reins were gaping with large cracks, as though they would have devoured both horse and rider;-a tuft of wool peeped out from the padding of the saddle, in different directions; and the animal himself, like a jockey, was fairly sweat down to "catch weight."

"What in the world is this you have brought me!" I exclaimed ; "I expected a horse-not the ghost of one."

"One of the finest animals in the world, Sir,” replied Mr. Hurtim ; "Jick-jick-come up, Sir; he is a little stiff at first-but he mends as he warms-and he is quite safe."

"Why, Sir, the animal is unfit to undertake a journey from the stable to the trough," said I, not a little chagrined as well as humbled. "Never fear, Sir-get on-get on, Sir"-rejoined little crispin, who spoke like a watchman's rick-bustling about the horse, the boy, the rider-saddle, bridle, stirrup, and crupband, all at once;— "he went to Morpeth and back again yesterday-a distance of forty miles, without ever turning a hair."

"Have you no other?" was enquired.

Other, Sir-no-not if you would give a hundred pounds for one," he exclaimed; a little surprised that an objection should be raised to a horse, which had travelled the road so long, and to which he could give such an undeniable character.

There was no alternative; the remainder of the stud were engaged for the "Well." Grasping hold of the mane and of the bridle, in a state of desperation I thrust my foot into the stirrup ; and had it not been for the judicious conduct of the wary little man and the boy, who had prudently posted themselves on the opposite side, where they maintained a fair balance by tugging at the stirrup-leather, the animal would certainly have been floored before his time. Whip and spur were immediately held in requisition; and Mr. Hurtim, who always had too much respect for his customers instantly to turn his back upon them, as I afterwards learned, and anxious withal to see the horse safely over the stones, invariably proceeded to the end of the town with the rider. During this stage of the business, he, as was usual with him, accommodated his pace to the animal, walking or trotting agreeably to his ability and humour. Now he would make his advance towards the neck, alternately hitting the horse with the palm of his hand, laying it upon my knee, as if to support his steps, or touching the bridle then casting a glance at the feet of the one and the face of the other, would endeavour-from the purest motives of trade, no doubt, to ascertain how far safety and temper promised to comport with

the length of the journey. In the twinkling of an eye, he would be found in the rear, a few paces from the horse's heels, and taking hold of each side of his leathern apron, would crack and flap it in the air, like a girl shaking carpets, thus endeavouring to inspire him with a little extra spirit-no matter of what kind-and to produce by the crack of the leather what I, as horseman, failed to effect by the crack of the whip. Then in an instant again he would twist the apron, as if in the act of wringing clothes, and taking hold of its upper end, would dexterously contrive, while passing on to his former station, to wind it round the front of the animal's thigh, and touching the inner part, would realize a few inches of real speed. Nothing but encouragement appeared now to be requisite; and like an ostler, employed with the wisp, the curry-comb, or the brush, he ambled on with a half-whistle, ever and anon exchanging the note, for "jick—jick—that's my lad-there he goes-he's off now,"―occasionally instructing me how to guide the rein, how to sit in the saddle, and where, in case of emergency, on the spirits beginning to flag, I might find a tender part, and touch it with advantage. Such kindly attentions could scarcely fail, whatever they might augur, to mollify the feelings that had been excited. If there was any failure, it was not in him, but in the horse, and it would have been hard to visit the one with non-payment, for the defect of the other. The way was now clear; the animal, having passed the usual drill, knew that he was bound to proceed; the stones became less immoveable; instead of remaining motionless, till as much fire was struck out of them as would have illuminated every grate and warmed every hearth in the town, they began to scamper off on every movement of the foot-flying right and left-and giving the appearance of an animal playing at marbles. Jacky-pardon, gentle reader! that is, Mr. Hurtim, seeing the stones, together with every joint of both man and horse, fairly in motion, tipped the brim of his hat, with "Good morning, Sir-a pleasant journey to you," and returned to his last and to his apprentices.

I ascended the hill, and on reaching the toll bar, made an abrupt turn to the left. I had scarcely proceeded a mile, when I united myself to some of the hindermost of the pedestrians, who had just entered the main road from the foot path, and contrived to keep pace with them across the moors. Arriving at length at the pond, called the "Freemen's Well," about four miles from the town, I was grateful to find, that out of scores of stumblings, there had not been above two fair falls and three quarters. On dismounting, I stretched and shook myself, in order to replace any joints that might have slipped out of their sockets; and anxiously awaited the appearance of the candidates, in company with their friends and others -the candidates themselves being obliged to go to the full extent of their boundaries, while we had the privilege of taking a nearer cut across the moors. While several were emptying their pockets and their baskets of liquors and other refreshments, I endeavoured to satisfy my curiosity with all that could be seen, I found the "Well" situated at the bottom of a hill, called Freeman's Hill;" it appeared to be about ten yards long and four broad. Oral enquiry was unnecessary on several subjects. One exclaimed to a person near

him, "I'll bet you a guinea, Dick Thompson will be through first:" -a second, "How will the poor old blind man get through?"-a third, "Little Jack Stephenson will get a ducking" and so on. Striking in with an exclamation, amidst a dozen more, "How dirty the water is!" said I. "And well it may,” replied a person at my elbow; "the water," continued he, perceiving me to be a stranger from the remark-"the water is permitted to run off till about a week previous to St. Mark's day, when the chamberlains pay a small sum to the servants of an adjoining farmer to dam it up; but the sly rustics, before they proceed to their duty, take care to dig large holes, build dikes, and fasten straw ropes at the bottom, in order to give the unsuspecting candidates a good drenching; and to beguile the eye from these, they have been engaged this morning, by means of long poles, in raising the mud from the bed of the pond." Just at that moment a general shout was set up, and directing my attention to the place on which every eye was fixed, I saw several persons on horseback leaping over a hedge at the top of the hill. The summit of the rise running on a line with the horizon, rendered the horsemen invisible till they reached the side of the hedge facing the crowd, and produced an effect similar to that of persons shooting from the skies. As these were the candidates, and it was an honour to be first at the Well, the neck of course appeared of minor importance, and down they drove towards us full speed.

Dismounted, they instantly began to strip, and each candidate was soon arrayed in white, with a white cap, ornamented with a bunch of ribbons at the side of it, and but for which coloured appendage the cap might have been indicative, that the neck was about to be stretched, rather than that immersion was at hand. Prior to their proceeding to the edge of the well, the spirits were again exhilarated with a glass of brandy, which, perhaps, would be the less fiery, as it was about to be dipped in water. Being again arranged, not as horsesoldiers, but as light-infantry, the signal was given, and twenty-five in number, as from a "sheep loup," to employ the language of the country, plunged into the pool, and were instantly over head and ears," amongst mud and filth. The son of the oldest freeman, according the general rule, had the honour of taking the first leap, which was improved by the juniors, some of whom broke their fall by leaping upon his back; and, employing him at the bottom of the pool as a kind of stepping stone, hastened their passage through. The principal part of the pleasure attendant on this part of the ceremony wasthat of their seizing each other by the limbs, mounting on each other's shoulders-any thing, in short, to hasten their own and retard the progress of their fellows.

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Never did a company of frogs, assailed by a set of idle school boys, occasion greater merriment to the spectators, or work a pond into a greater tempest, than did these ducklings, appearing and disappearing as they made the best of their way through, and plentifully besprinkling the bye-standers, who were pressed towards the verge by the crowds behind, equally anxious to witness the scene with themselves. One circumstance ought to be noticed, as it helped to quicken their diligence on their passage to freedom; on the preceding day-as is not uncommon at that season of the year in the north

-there had fallen a copious shower of hail and sleet; in the night there had been a sharp frost; and although the morning sun had risen upon the scene, and was cresting the eddies of the pool with its light, the weather was nevertheless intensely cold. The old man, who was bald and blind, and had to substitute the cap for the wig, and who, after the neglect of many years, had been compelled by the importunity of his friends to take up his freedom for the sake of his children and grand-children, then witnesses of the ceremony, was led along the edge of the pool by one of his descendants; while the other candidates, on reaching the opposite shore, were assisted out of the puddle by their friends. The "first out" was honoured with applause, and the "last in" had to content himself with the jokes of the spectators. Recourse was once more had to the bottle to chase away ague and fever; and having put on dry clothes, their spirits were elevated to an uncommon degree. Again on horseback, they were ready to perambulate the remainder of their large common. Not feeling much disposed to accompany them round their boundaries, I took a nearer route across the moors, to give them the meeting, with the rest of the crowd, on their entrance into the town. This indisposition arose out of sheer tenderness, not so much for Mr. Hurtim's nag, as for myself, having had a good deal of fine feeling excited by the electrical shocks of his spavined step.

Proceeding at the full speed of the animal, I at length overtook an honest tradesman, whose son had just passed through the well, and was ready with his fellows for another washing. The tradesman was mounted on one of the less sprightly of Mr. H's stud; and this accounts for my success in having gained ground on an animal similar in shape to my own. The moment my steed saw the other for he still had one eye left-he began to neigh and spring forward at the rate of five miles an hour. I could scarcely conceive what had befallen the beast; but on his arrival at the point of attraction, he turned his head towards his old mate with an apparent and deeply sympathetic feeling, as if about to salute him, and moved on straight abreast with him, as in the shafts of a curricle-bidding fair for a "dead heat" at the close of the journey. The tradesman looked like "Widow Placid," he had been accustomed to engage horses at Mr. Hurtim's Livery Stables, and had all the enjoyment he expected; besides, the circumstance of his son being made free, swallowed up all minor considerations; chafing and shaking were mere trifles; his mind was made up for them; and he met them with the fortitude of a man going to be tied to the halberts. The conversation of my companion in tra vail was a great relief. On enquiring the precise route of the newlyfledged burgesses, he replied, "They have to pass over a considerable extent of country, and during their progress each young freeman is obliged to alight every quarter of a mile, and, taking up a stone, has to place it on a cairn, as a mark of his boundary. This is done till they reach the "Townley Cairn," where the Duke of Northumberland's bailiff reads over the names of the freeholders of Alnwick. Having arrived at a place called the "Freeman's Gap," the young freemen, exulting in their past success, and too often warm with the fumes of cogniac, set off at full speed, over rocks and steep declivities, at the imminent risk of their lives, each striving to acquire the honour of being

first at the "Rotten-row-tower, at the entrance of the town." Then, with a burst of tender parental feeling, he added, "I hope my lad will escape harm. I cautioned him this morning against Johnny Wardle's folly, who, while shouting out Neck or nothing,' and heedless of his road, precipitated his horse over the edge of a deep gravel pit, and sure enough, broke the neck of the beast, and narrowly saved his own."

"There ought to be good horsemanship among them," I observed. Poor, indeed, Sir," replied the tradesman: "and what can you expect from a tailor, for instance, who has been pinned to the lapboard from his childhood? Some of the candidates have been known to exercise a month or six weeks before-hand, in order to prepare themselves for the day."

The conversation next took a commercial turn, and lasted till we reached within about half a mile of the town, where, on several natural, with a few artificial mounds, and these again on considerably elevated ground, an immense concourse of people were waiting the appearance of the freemen. The situation was favourable, and could command a view of them at a distance of two miles or upwards. Here I amused myself by surveying the scenery.

Inclining southward, and on a tolerable rise, a low dwelling, called the "Shepherd's House," appeared-the only dwelling, with the excep tion of the toll-bar-house, visible in that quarter. Further on, were seen some of the decayed posts of the race-course, which, to the great advantage of the inhabitants, was hastening into disuse. The ground, still rising, concealed the remainder of the southern prospect. Turning the horse, with his face towards the east, the well-built town of Alnwick, with its towers, its fine Gothic church, and its castle, had a most imposing effect; the Alne, meanwhile, like a restless pilgrim, meandering down the vale, in a serpentine form, on its route to the German Ocean, which, at a distance of five miles, glistened in the sun, its bosom spotted with beautiful islands, and its cliffy shores adorned with the ruins of Warkworth, Dunstanborough, and Bamborough castles, the last of which was the royal palace of Ida, the first king of Northumberland-not omitting the white-winged vessels, like swans upon the tide, gliding along to and from Berwick, and other ports. Between the town and the sea was a fine natural cliff, crowned with an observatory-the general face of the country being well-cultivated, and thickly set with plantations, embossed in two of which were two monuments-the one being the spot on which Malcolm III. king of Scotland lost his life, while besieging Alnwick castleand the other where William the Lion, another Scottish Monarch, was taken prisoner in attempting to storm the same noble pile. To the north, the prospect was less extensive, but not less rich and varied. There the large pleasure grounds of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland stretched up the vale, with gravel walks in the sun and in the shade, some of them in a direct line, and others circuitously formed, leading to the rude cascade, or along the side of the murmuring rivulet-the more majestic stream of the Alne pouring its waters down the middle of the valley, its banks being adorned with the remains of two noted abbeys, about two or three miles asunder from each other, the one designated Hulne, the other Alnwick Abbey; the